Chapter 194
Chapter 194
VTIC’s Cheong-ryeo.
‘Is this the first time since the vacation?’
As expected, I didn’t feel much of anything. Seeing as he’d been quiet lately, the chances of him pulling any more useless stunts were probably low.
‘I’ll just blend in.’
Sure enough, all I could hear was the chatter of the other members. They seemed to be raising their voices, conscious of the noisy award ceremony atmosphere.
“We’ve been enjoying your reality show!”
“Thank you.”
Since their comeback had been delayed, they must have binged all sorts of videos while staying quietly at home.
However, the VTIC guy must have misinterpreted my lack of agitation as me thinking his words were just empty flattery, because he felt the need to keep going.
“No, really, we all watched it together, and it was so much fun!”
“Right? Hyung, you enjoyed it too, didn’t you?”
“...!”
One of them nudged Cheong-ryeo into the conversation, trying to get him to chime in.
‘Just go already.’
Up until now, it could pass as decent socializing, but the atmosphere was about to get awkward. If this got caught on a fancam, it would be a rumor mill.
‘These guys are a real pain.’
The moment I let out an internal sigh, I locked eyes with Cheong-ryeo.
“....”
He gave a slight nod.
That was it.
‘Oh.’
It was a surprisingly appropriate reaction for the situation.
Just as I was thinking that common sense had finally returned to that head of his after he’d been knocked around, the conversation wrapped up.
“Ah~ Sunbaenims, thank you so much! We’ve been watching your performances a lot lately too~”
“Oh~ I’m getting a bit shy!”
“I know, right!”
“That’s why we even brought cushions today, so we could focus with a truly reverent attitude!”
“Wahaha! Is that why you brought them?”
“Of course~ Good luck today, Sunbaenim!”
“Yeah, good luck to you too, Hoobaenim!”
Keun Se-jin took the lead and wrapped up the conversation on his own.
I should really buy him some Korean beef or something.
‘He’s certainly earning his keep.’
I’d even count Bae Se-jin as earning his keep just by not glaring at the VTIC side.
The moment VTIC headed to their seats, Keun Se-jin immediately covered his mouth so he wouldn’t be seen from the audience and whispered.
“...Where did you say you hit him? I don’t see any marks.”
“The back of his head. His neck.”
Cheong-ryeo was wearing a black turtleneck.
He clearly hadn’t been able to get rid of the bruises yet.
Keun Se-jin’s expression flickered with something unreadable for a moment before he quickly wiped it away.
[Hello, everyone. At the start of the year, looking back on last year’s achievements...]
At that moment, the MC’s opening remarks began on stage.
The live broadcast had started.
‘It’s going to be boring for a while.’
I leaned back into my seat without making it obvious.
It was time to operate as a reaction machine.
It goes without saying, but having time to just sit still during a busy schedule was a relief.
However, having to look focused while doing nothing but watching performances was also quite uncomfortable.
‘Still, it’s better than the first recording of Idol Inc.’
At least the people performing now were all guaranteed to have some kind of award-winning track record.
Waaaaaaaah!
I clapped along with the cheers for a group that had just finished their stage.
They had added a dance performance that moderately incorporated modern dance, but honestly, except for the one person in the center, it wasn’t particularly interesting.
If I were to translate all recognizable idols into Idol Inc. grades... they’d be somewhere between Gold and Silver.
Well, let’s hear the expert’s opinion.
“How was the stage?”
“M-me?”
“Yeah.”
“Um... I think it was cool because they w-worked so hard. Um, the extensions were... pretty.”
So he couldn’t bring himself to say they were good. Got it.
After enduring like that and maintaining just enough reaction so as not to look rude on a fancam...
[Loviewers, I love you!]
[Thank you. Thanks to all of you, this has been a truly happy year of promotions.]
Immediately after giving our acceptance speech for the Bonsang an hour and a half later, it was finally time to prepare for our stage.
“Move, move.”
“Okay.”
And this stage wasn’t something we could just let pass as one of many special performances during the awards season.
It was our first stage since the successful airing of our reality show.
We had to pull the public interest we gained from the variety show back to the stage to solidify our appeal as an idol group.
‘In the end, you have to be good at your main job.’
So, we put some extra effort into this one.
—The day has finally come
Haengcha
Grrrr— Woah!
The moment the choreography, split into two groups with numerous dancers, collided on stage, colorful flags painted with ink-wash landscapes and beasts fluttered.
Then, a swift dance break using laser effects that looked like balls.
Vivid colors and movements meshed with an aggressive arrangement.
It was a performance inspired by ‘Gima Gyeokgu,’ a traditional game played by military officers during the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties.
The cheers pierced through my in-ears.
Waaaaaaaah!!!
Aaaack!
We had added a shorter, simplified version of the dance break from our concert, and the reaction was quite good.
Had I thought this last time? It’s funny, but now I could roughly tell just by the atmosphere on stage.
Whether it was a stage that was just acceptable, or a stage that was truly worth watching.
This time, it was definitely the latter.
“Whew.”
“The floor was slippery, but everyone did great.”
“It was magnificent~”
Keun Se-jin said that, but he glanced up as if he were still unsatisfied. It seemed he hadn’t been able to show movements as aggressive as he’d planned.
“Yeah, good job. It’s been a while since we performed domestically, right?”
“That’s right.”
“It was fun!”
With a clean stage without mistakes and seeing the camera lights, it seemed the performance was captured well, just like the rehearsal.
Everyone caught their breath with fairly proud faces and returned to their seats.
Coincidentally, VTIC wasn’t nearby.
‘Is their stage in two turns?’
Since the live broadcast was almost over, the final performers must have gone to get ready.
The only awards left were the Popularity Award and the Daesang.
‘If they win at this timing, they’ll come out from backstage.’
I’d seen that picture a few times, but honestly, it lacked impact compared to walking up from your seat.
Thinking that the organization of this particular ceremony was a bit clumsy this year, I waited for the VCR on the screen to end.
And a moment later.
[The winner of the Golden Disc Popularity Award is... Congratulations. TeSTAR!]
The presenter called out TeSTAR’s name.
“...!!”
“Huh?? Uh, what?!”
The guys, who had been sitting somewhat loosely after their stage, bolted upright.
It was understandable.
This was... honestly, an unexpected situation.
After being sanctioned recently for ‘encouraging unhealthy competition,’ the Popularity Award voting status had been changed to a private format where only the total number of votes was displayed.
‘Still, you usually have a gut feeling.’
The Popularity Award is often won by the same artist who wins the Album Daesang.
We live in an era where streaming services are the mainstream. A singer who has many people willing to buy their physical albums? It means the singer themselves is popular, not just a single song.
Yet, TeSTAR, not VTIC, won this award—an award given 100% by voting, without any intervention from the organizers under the guise of ‘expert judging.’
‘Even if VTIC fans didn’t participate as much...’
I knew that VTIC fans, guessing they wouldn’t attend this ceremony either, hadn’t been very enthusiastic about voting until the very end.
Even considering that, it was a surprising result.
‘There must have been a late rush after the news of their attendance broke.’
Doesn’t this mean... we’ve reached a point where we can actually hold our own?
A strange sense of exhilaration lightly brushed my back.
‘Let’s stay calm.’
Anyway, regardless of these thoughts that flashed by in an instant, my body was reflexively standing up and bowing repeatedly.
The other members were the same.
“Wow....”
“Whoa!”
From those standing up with dazed faces to those running out in excitement, they were all over the place, but either way, it seemed no one had particularly expected this. It was only natural.
‘The organizers didn’t say anything either.’
They probably wanted to capture a good shot of us being surprised. Sly bastards.
We creaked our way up to the stage, accompanied by cameras working hard to get close-ups.
“T-thank you...!”
“Thank you!”
However, because the formation naturally broke apart while we were waving to fans, the handheld microphone the staff handed out went to the wrong person instead of the leader.
It was Kim Rae-bin.
“Uh... well.”
He’s flustered. As expected, an impromptu speech was too heavy a task for him.
‘But since he’s already started, he has to say something.’
Just say ‘Thank you, I love you’ at the very least.
“Thank you.”
Right.
But once Kim Rae-bin started, he seemed to gain momentum. He kept holding the mic and blurted out a long string of words.
“While preparing the Chakho-gapsa album, there were frequent concerns about whether it could achieve commercial success with the general public, but the fact that we were able to receive this award because so many people voted for us feels like a confirmation that the group’s choice was not wrong.”
Please, just end the sentence.
Still, if it was at this level, it was a passing grade despite being long-winded.
If only it had ended well like that.
“And the adventurous choice of solo tracks... Ugh, I’m sorry!”
However, Kim Rae-bin finally spotted the staff’s signal in front of him and, in a panic, politely offered his microphone to me.
“...??”
Why give it to me? The leader is right there.
Laughter erupted from the audience. Kim Rae-bin covered his face and politely stepped back.
‘Is this actually better?’
More than half of the audience filling the ground right now were VTIC fans, and at least their atmosphere had softened a bit.
Seeing rookies who hadn’t even hit their two-year mark winning and getting flustered probably allowed them to rationalize it with a ‘I’ll let it slide this once’ mentality.
I naturally tried to pass the mic back to Ryu Cheong-woo, but he smiled and gestured for me to do it.
He probably felt like he should yield since he had given the Bonsang speech.
‘Fine.’
I took the mic, feeling a bit reluctant.
“Rae-bin is very smart. I agree with everything he said.”
After another small wave of laughter, I calmly continued.
“Thank you to everyone who took the time out of their busy daily lives to vote for us. We will return with an album that is even more worth your votes.”
“Thank you!”
“Loviewers, I love you! I’m so happy!”
The acceptance time ended with Cha Yu-jin giving a thumbs up.
Even during the short time passing through the backstage, there were cameras, so we couldn’t have a detailed conversation yet, but everyone seemed to have felt it.
That TeSTAR’s weight class was no longer just a gatekeeper for the top tier, but firmly within it.
‘The motivation is certainly there.’
I even thought that people at the company might start dreaming idle dreams about us smoothly forming a rivalry with VTIC by next year.
However, a moment later.
Watching VTIC’s comeback stage, I figured the company would have folded that short dream.
Waaaaaaaaaaaah!!
The cheers from the audience were so loud they felt like they would tear my ears. It was understandable.
‘They’re damn good.’
Even though their numbers had dwindled to four, they placed dancers in the right spots so there were no gaps.
And the song was incredible.
‘This is what happens when a company does its job well.’
They quickly cut off the member who was beyond saving and thoroughly managed the rest so that not a single article came out during their hiatus.
Even Cheong-ryeo’s injury was never publicly disclosed. From this handling alone, I could feel the company’s experience, ability, and vision all at once.
As a result, it was clear that VTIC would smoothly escape their downward spiral with that one perfect stage amidst well-refined public opinion.
In short, they were a stark contrast to a certain other agency.
‘Hmm, I want to quit.’
As I was muttering the dream of every office worker, VTIC’s long stage concluded, and the Daesang was announced.
Well, it was obvious.
[The Daesang goes to... VTIC’s <Insight>!]
If we didn’t want to create a controversy over our attitude, we’d better stand up and clap hard.
[Thank you so much! We... hic, we’ll really do even better.]
The other side must have suffered a lot too, as it was a sea of tears. The sound of sobbing could be heard not only in the speech but also from the audience.
‘Hmm.’
However, Cheong-ryeo’s face was clean.
He made a habitual gesture of comforting the others a few times and took the microphone last.
Then, he began his speech in a casual tone.
[I’m not really sure.]
Is he crazy?